135th Street station (IRT Lenox Avenue Line)


135th Street is a station on the IRT Lenox Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 135th Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem, it is served by the 2 and 3 trains at all times.

History

This station opened just after midnight on November 23, 1904, as part of the IRT's original system. It was completed along with the rest of the IRT Lenox Avenue Line, then known as the East Side Subway or East Side Branch, south of 145th Street.
Starting on March 2, 1998, the tunnel was reconstructed along with the cracked tunnel floor. This was done to correct a major water problem that had existed for many years due to the presence of the Harlem Creek and other underground streams, which caused extensive flooding, water damage, and seepage problems that occasionally contributed to severe service disruptions. The project cost $82 million and was finished on October 12, 1998. During the reconstruction, many trains were rerouted via the IRT Lexington Avenue Line, while the trains were rerouted to the 137th Street–City College station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. Each of the two Lenox Avenue Line tracks were alternately taken out of service and supplemental shuttle bus service connecting to other lines in the area were provided for much of this time.

Station layout

This underground station has three tracks and two side platforms. The northbound outer track merges with the center track just north of the station and the center track merges with the southbound outer one just south of the station. The center track was last used by late night 3 shuttle trains from Harlem–148th Street when they terminated here prior to 1995.
Both platform mosaics have three different kinds of trim line and name tablets.
North of the station, a diamond crossover allows trains to switch between the two tracks. At the 142nd Street Junction, the 2 train provides service to the Bronx via the IRT White Plains Road Line while the 3 continues on the IRT Lenox Avenue Line to 145th Street and Harlem–148th Street.
The 1995 artwork here is called Harlem Timeline by Willie Birch. It features mosaics of notable Harlem residents on the station platforms. The one on the southbound side includes Adam Clayton Powell, Joe Louis, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Charlie Parker, Clara Ward, and Louis Armstrong while one on the northbound side includes the Harlem Globetrotters, the NAACP, Abyssian Baptist Church, Cotton Club, and Randall's Island football team.

Exits

Each platform has one same-level entrance at the center containing a turnstile bank, token booth, and two stairs to the streets, the northbound side to the east side of Lenox Avenue and the southbound side to the west. Each fare control area also has one elevator from the street installed in mid-2008 that make this station fully ADA-accessible.